The Best Reader:
hope

"It was fun to read about a character (Forrester) who wasn't afraid to be intelligent." — Miss Remmers

From Amazon.com...

"The only tie-in to the Columbia Pictures film starring Sean Connery, directed by Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting) — an inspiring story about the unlikely friendship between a famous, reclusive novelist and an amazingly gifted teen who secretly yearns to be a writer. Set in Manhattan and the South Bronx, William Forrester (Connery), a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist who has not been heard from for four decades, accidentally discovers that Jamal, a brash 16-year-old African-American who plays basketball on the court below his window, keeps a secret journal that shows a real gift for writing. Forrester takes Jamal on as a protege, and the friendship challenges and changes the two of them forever. "

Why I read this: Next semester we will be reading "Finding Forrester" throughout the school during T.E.A.M time (TEAM will be replacing DEAR). The English teachers had to create lessons to go along with book for each 20 minute period.

Plot: While I didn't get too excited about the plot of this novel, it was intriguing — I mean who wouldn't want to meet and befriend a famous Great American Author? There were some great metaphors in this novel about working hard, being true to yourself, but especially in regards to being a scholar and academic, not being afraid to be intelligent. I think our students will relate to these themes of the novel.

Characters: The characters were likable, but because there have been so many movies/books out there about the boy who decides to "be different and work hard" (Step Up), it was hard to stay focused when the author tried to convey to the readers how isolated Jamal had become from his friends. His mom and his teacher, I adored — but again, we've seen so many characters like them throughout film and literature. Forrester was a rare character, one that was read so bitter and intelligent — I've obviously seen movies with characters like that, but I don't think I've found a character in a book that has been so raw and honest in that aspect.

Cover: Mediocre. Didn't draw me to it but didn't push me away. If I were the publishing company I'd want Sean Connery's face on the book too.

Random Thoughts: Unlike most books/movies, this book was written after the movie. So throughout the book all I could think of was Sean Connery's (can we say?) delicious accent.

Final Thoughts: Overall this was an okay book that was a light, fast read. It was fun to read about being scholarly and intelligent — I hope my students can pick those hints out of the book. But as for me personally, it was a bit generic. I'm looking forward to watching the movie to see it in the medium where it was originally meant to be seen.

Originality: 10/10
Ending: 9/10
Characters: 9/10
Plot: 7/10
My reaction/enjoyment: 5/10
Theme: 10/10
Imagery: 10/10
Setting: 5/5
Voice: 5/5
Style: 5/5
Tone: 5/5
Cover: 6/10
Overall: 86/100 B

To the FTC, with love: School Book

As of tomorrow (January 1st) there are three days left to donate a review to benefit my struggling readers. Despite it being the holiday, many bloggers/readers are staying in to participate in "Reading Into The New Year ". But really, when we say "reading" that could mean twittering (most likely) and reviewing (hopefully). If that's you, please spread the word, maybe even donate a review!

If you'd like to spread the word via Twitter please copy/paste this message:

"Donate a Review for the Holidays! Win DELIRIUM! http://bit.ly/gPEpxI @google"

Or put your own spin on it — as long as you have the url and the @google. Here's why: for every tweet to spread the word you'll be entered in a giveaway of ARCs. You don't have to follow the blog, you don't have to donate a review, just spread the word and you can win one of the following:

• ARC of "Revolution"
• On The Compulsive Reader's Favorite Books of 2010: : Review
• ARC of "I'd Know You Anywhere"
• On Presenting Lenore's Best/Most Memorable Reads of 2010
• ARC of "Russian Winter"
• On Beth Fish Reads Top Reads of the Year: : Review
• ARC of "Girl in Translation"
• Take Me Away's Most Memorable Character: : Review

I know, I know, I'm about a day and a half late to this party. But really, I've been keeping super busy! The TV hasn't been on ALL day (but I haven't opened a book all day either). I've spent my day looking up Reading Challenges for the new year, I wrote a huge wrap up post (for all the months I forgot about), I took down the Christmas decorations and put the boxes in the trunk (despite the massive amount of ice outside), I've finally organized my bookshelves, I wrote a review, I've read through my Reader (several times), etc. I swear, I'm really trying here people.

But with this winter storm (it rained all morning/afternoon, then the temp dropped to -10 so we have sheets of ice EVERYWHERE), D won't be making it home from work. He works as a nurse in a neighboring town (9 miles) and works 12 hour shifts four days in a row this week. So, for the first time since we've moved in together, I'm here alone. And I'm sick of cleaning.

So I'm joining this party with hopes of finishing three novels before tomorrow night:

• Knightley Academy (I'm halfway through) (216 pages)
• Delirium (441 pages)
• Crescendo (427 pages)

The second "reading" challenge I've chose to participate in for 2011 is the Audio Book challenge hosted by Teresa's Reading Corner. I wish I read more audiobooks, they seem like such great "time savers." When I'm doing everyday tasks (cleaning, showering, cooking, straightening my hair, etc) I always think, "Man, I could be reading." With audiobooks I can be reading while still doing all of those everyday chores. It's like the ultimate use of time! The Audio Book Challenge runs from January 1st to December 31st, 2011. I'll be participating at the "Addicted" level in hopes of finishing 12 audio books this year.

1. Definitely Dead
2. If I Stay
3. Eragon
4. Wintergirls
5. The Giver
6. All Together Dead
7. Entwined
8. The Maze Runner
9. Speak
10. Glass Houses
11. The Adoration of Jenna Fox
12. Fallen
13. Crescendo
14. Between Shades of Gray
15. The Night Circus

I've decided to join the Bookish Ardour's Dystopia Reading Challenge! From January 1st to December 31st, 2011 I hope to read the following 15 Dystopian novels to qualify for the Contagion Level (15 books). There is an extra book, just in case I can't put the genre down. I really want to thank There's A Book for recommending this challenge to me! I am SO excited to get started!

1. Outside In
2. Inside Out
3. Across the Universe
4. Delirium
5. Enclave
6. Bumped
7. Wither
8. The Giver
9. The Adoration of Jenna Fox
10. Ashfall
11. The Pledge
12. Pandemonium
13. The Maze Runner
14. Crossed

In June (of 2010), I looked into what books I had read from Good Books and Good Wine 's list of Top 100 YA Books and challenged myself to see how many I can read before the end of the year. Well, as it is now the end of the year, I thought I should look at my progress, or lack of progress. I only read three. Yes, only three. I've decided to give myself another year to finish this challenge. Last time, I only had a few books actually in my possession, now I have more than ten. Hopefully this year will go a bit better than the last six months.
Here's the list:
Previously On my TBR List
100. Hate List by Jennifer Brown 91. Wings by Aprillynne Pike* 76. If I Stay by Gayle Foreman* 73. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa 71. Stardust by Neil Gaiman 67. Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles* 56. Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Caine* 55. The Vampire Diaries by LJ Smith 54. Fallen by Lauren Kate* 48. The Maze Runner by James Dashner 43. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson 42. Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card 40. Wake series by Lisa McMann* 38. Are You There God? It's Me Margaret by Judy Blume 36. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett 33. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 31. The Dark Divine by Bree Despain* 30. Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr 24. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson* 22. Uglies series by Scott Westerfield* 21. Beautiful Creatures by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia* 17. Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead* 13. The Giver by Lois Lowry* 11. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater 4. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee*
* — Currently on my bookshelf
What do you think? Can I do it?

From Amazon.com...

"Rare-book theft is even more widespread than fine-art theft. Most thieves, of course, steal for profit. John Charles Gilkey steals purely for the love of books. In an attempt to understand him better, journalist Allison Hoover Bartlett plunged herself into the world of book lust and discovered just how dangerous it can be.

Gilkey is an obsessed, unrepentant book thief who has stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of rare books from book fairs, stores, and libraries around the country. Ken Sanders is the self-appointed "bibliodick" (book dealer with a penchant for detective work) driven to catch him. Bartlett befriended both outlandish characters and found herself caught in the middle of efforts to recover hidden treasure. With a mixture of suspense, insight, and humor, she has woven this entertaining cat-and-mouse chase into a narrative that not only reveals exactly how Gilkey pulled off his dirtiest crimes, where he stashed the loot, and how Sanders ultimately caught him but also explores the romance of books, the lure to collect them, and the temptation to steal them. Immersing the reader in a rich, wide world of literary obsession, Bartlett looks at the history of book passion, collection, and theft through the ages, to examine the craving that makes some people willing to stop at nothing to possess the books they love."

Today's Quick Giveaway is "The Man Who Loved Books Too Much." I have shamelessly had this book for months and I just have not been able to get into it. I stuck to my review policy and made it 100 pages in, but this book is not for me. I wish I was more interested in the art of book collec

tion and the passion it involves — but I'm not.

So my loss is your gain: I'd like to give this book to a past Guest Reviewer who has participated in my holiday campaign for reviews.

All that you have to do is email me at google [at] gmail [dot] com:
1. Your Name
2. Your Email Address
3. The corresponding number to the review you sent in according to the Mr. Linky (Look at Mr. Linky, find your name/number — that's what I'm looking for).

Oh, and because this was an ARC review book (and I do feel excruciatingly bad about not finishing it) I will be forwarding an email to the winner from Lydia Hirt about the book so that, after posting the review review, the winner can email the link to her so that she does get a review.

After the first person as emailed me — I will update this post and contact the winner and hopefully get the book sent out tomorrow!

UPDATE: I apologize for my email hot mess. Three people contacted me and the first was Sharon from Sharon's Garden of Book Reviews. Stay tuned for another "Quick Giveaway" early next week!

Happy Christmas everyone! I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday (snowed in or not). I don't want to take up too much of your time, but I did want to share bit of Christmas cheer with you. Below is my absolute favorite Christmas video — I don't even care that it's a commercial for Walmart. I love the feeling of the video and all that it presents (even though I'm a Pepsi girl myself). Absolutely wonderful marketing by Walmart here.

While we can't all share a bit of Walmart Coke together this holiday, I do think of you all as my extended family and I wish you a very Merry Christmas.

Christmas is coming, and in light of the festivities, today I am going to share with you an article to further inspire the Christmas spirit. Thanks to Julie from FSB Associates for providing this article for me!

The Ultimate Christmas Gift: Renewed Appreciation for the Lord's Prayer

Kathleen McGowan, the author of The Source of Miracles: 7 Steps to Transforming Your Life through the Lord's Prayer

We are often reminded this time of year, and rightfully so, that "Jesus is the Reason for the Season." I can think of no better way to celebrate what Jesus gave to us than to renew our appreciation for his most amazing gift, The Lord's Prayer. In the Gospel of Luke, when Jesus is asked by one of his disciples, "Lord, teach us to pray." He responds very specifically, with the Lord's Prayer. He also teaches this prayer as a component of the Sermon on the Mount. Thus we see in scripture that when Jesus teaches us to pray it is always with these words.

The prayer is perfect. It is our greatest spiritual gift, from the Great Spiritual Giver.

When I set out to write a book about the power of the Lord's Prayer, I was stunned to discover that there were very few published works that dealt with it in any depth. Nearly one third of the planet's population recites this prayer — over two billion people — and yet there were essentially no books about it.

The time had come! What I have been asked most often since writing The Source of Miracles: Seven Powerful Steps to Transforming Your Life Through the Lord's Prayer is: why did I feel the need to write it and why now? What is it about the Lord's Prayer that is so important for us to examine anew as we make our journey into the new world of the 21st Century?

The simple answer is that using this prayer in a specific practice has transformed my life and I have witnessed it as the source of extraordinary miracles, not just for myself, but for countless others. I know it can change lives, and maybe even the world, for the better. Therefore I equally knew that I had an obligation to share this prayer practice with as many people as possible — and fast. The world is at critical mass, people need hope to go forward, and this prayer can and will bring them that — and more. Everything we need for personal transformation is included in just over fifty words that most of us already know by heart, but many of us have forgotten how to use effectively.

In my own journey as a writer and researcher, I came across an amazing prayer practice that was taught by a Christian sect in France during the Middle Ages. For these medieval Christians, the Lord's Prayer was not only the cornerstone of their faith, it was the guidebook to living a perfect life. They understood that every word of the prayer was carefully considered by Jesus, and given to us as a loving and careful instruction for building our faith while living a joyous life through God. I began to work through this prayer as a spiritual practice in the medieval manner, which breaks the prayer down into seven lessons about life: Faith, Surrender, Service, Abundance, Forgiveness, Overcoming and Love. The results were astounding and immediate. My faith was strengthened and my life transformed in ways I could never have imagined prior to learning how to live through this prayer.

The Lord's Prayer is now, as it was when Jesus lived, the incorruptible formula for personal and global transformation.

While most of us can rattle off this greatest of prayers, many of us have forgotten the extraordinary power and meaning behind the words, if we ever thought about them to begin with. I learned the Lord's Prayer when I was three years old, in pre-school, many years before I would ever know what words like hallowed, trespasses or temptation meant. Like most children, we were taught to speak it on cue, like obedient little parrots who could make the appropriate sounds come out after endless repetitions, but had no ability to understand the somewhat exotic sounding syllables.

I can assure you that we were not taught the origins of the prayer as children, and even if someone had tried to explain it to us, we were far too young to understand it as a dynamic spiritual practice and a fool-proof recipe for creating a joyous and fulfilled life.

So many of us grow up never knowing that, with the Lord's Prayer, Jesus was giving us the formula for manifesting miracles; not only when we most need them, but on a very regular basis. It was his gift to us, and one that we can reclaim for ourselves and our loved ones this holiday season. We can create our own miracles in this season which is dedicated to them. It is literally the gift that keeps on giving!

The Lord's Prayer addresses the issues that hurt us, confound us, and impede our progress, and illuminates the way in which we can overcome these obstacles. The prayer is our guide to purifying our spirit of anything that troubles it and holds us back from functioning at our highest potential, a potential that leads directly to happiness and abundance. Using this prayer regularly as a spiritual practice creates real and lasting change at the soul level, change which becomes manifest in very earthly, visible ways.

When spoken with faith and intention, these are literally magic words.

I believe that if you study and hold tight to the Lord's Prayer, the Beatitudes, a handful of parables, and what Jesus tells us in Matthew 22, verses 37-39 — love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and love thy neighbor as thyself — then you pretty much have everything you need to live a perfect life and encourage peace on earth. But foremost of these gifts, the center from which all blessings spring, is the Lord's Prayer. While the other elements teach us valuable spiritual lessons, this great prayer is the tool that connects us immediately and directly to the source that is within each of us: the source of faith, the source of love, the source of forgiveness. And, in combination, those things are the source of very real miracles.

My own life has been transformed dramatically by utilizing the Lord's Prayer as a regular spiritual practice. As a result, I have witnessed the most miraculous events, including wonders of life and death. My own life has been blessed with extraordinary abundance and joy, thanks to the gift of this prayer practice. I hope to share this joy with you through the great prayer that unifies us all and is available to everyone. Together, we really can create heaven on earth — just the way Jesus taught us. Amen!

©2009 Kathleen McGowan, author of The Source of Miracles: 7 Steps to Transforming Your Life through the Lord's Prayer

Author Bio

Kathleen McGowan, author of The Source of Miracles: 7 Steps to Transforming Your Life through the Lord's Prayer, is an internationally published writer whose work has appeared on five continents and in at least fifteen languages. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and three sons. Kathleen is a dedicated activist, and commits a portion of her time and royalties to causes that protect women and children from the horrors of human trafficking and sexual slavery. She has teamed with The Emancipation Network and Made by Survivors to fund and participate in programs which provide shelter and safety for victims of abuse, and raise awareness of this global epidemic.

For more information about the book, please visit www.KathleenMcGowan.com.

I'd like to welcome this weeks Guest Reviewer, Gina from Book Dragon's Lair. Thank you!

**********************
From Amazon.com...
"This tale based on a true story about a charming penguin family living in New York City's Central Park Zoo will capture the hearts of penguin lovers everywhere. Roy and Silo, two male penguins, are "a little bit different." They cuddle and share a nest like the other penguin couples, and when all the others start hatching eggs, they want to be parents, too. Determined and hopeful, they bring an egg-shaped rock back to their nest and proceed to start caring for it. They have little luck, until a watchful zookeeper decides they deserve a chance at having their own family and gives them an egg in need of nurturing."

Two male penguins in New York City Central Park Zoo hatch an egg. Yes, two males. The book is cute but simplistic. It is a "picture book" geared for kindergarten and I can see why some parent's are in an uproar. I also don't see what the big deal is. Male and female Chintrap penguins look the same so if you see a couple, there is no way to tell it is male/male. The two boys did all the mating rituals that the other couples did, there is no way the zookeeper could have been mistaken.

You can only assume that the pair stayed together through more than one breeding season, otherwise why would they try to hatch a rock. Only after seeing the boys try this, did the zookeeper help. He gave the pair an unhatched egg from another couple that did not do well when taking care of two eggs. He DID NOT take another couple's egg from them, but instead relieved them of having to care for two eggs and possibly losing both.

Full color, short & simplistic, looks to be a bit bigger then legal size paper. I don't know what kind of media happened during/after the hatching, but really, no matter what your view on this is, the penguins are together, the zookeeper did a good thing and baby Tango survived when maybe she would not have. We should not throw away our children (the egg) when there is another option for them.

Edited to add picture & publish info, "Wow, a comment already!", and... This book is for my banned/challenged category of the 999 challenge. I picked it because it was a children's book and I just love children's books. The librarian my children had in elementary school would not have taken this out of the school library but she may have placed it with "penguin" instead of the picture books. Usually the kindergarten kids stayed with the picture books. This is what she did with a Holocaust picture book.

*******************

Gina, thank you again for such an awesome review! I love being able to add a bit of diversity of literature for my future students to read. Thank you!

Please visit Gina and share some book love over at Book Dragon's Lair. Check out her original review too!

If you've been following my Sunday Salon posts — you're aware that I am trying to 'clean' up my blog. Not because anything inappropriate is written, but because in the VERY near future I will be sending the URL to Miss Remmers' Review to school districts looking to hire an English Teacher for next Fall. I want to make sure that my blog is 'top-notch,' professional, practical, and fun. For the past couple weeks I have been rewriting certain posts and looking for grammatical errors and such.

This is my second "Project Blog" post. I have recently updated at my "Mission " post. I corrected grammatical errors and (hopefully) made it a little bit more professional. What do you think? Did you find anything I've missed? Do you think I need to add anything?

Thank you so much for your input/feedback! I am eternally grateful.

The Proximade Award was given to me by Sharon at Sharon's Garden of Book Reviews a couple weeks ago. Thank you, Sharon for this awesome Award!

The Proximade Award is given to blogs that invests and believes in the Proximity — nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated.

Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this clever-written text into the body of their award

I choose for my eight bloggers to recognize...

Sheila from One Person's Journey Through a World of Books

Esme from Chocolate and Croissants

Sandy from Pirate Penguin Reads

Gina from Book Dragon's Lair

Jasmyn from Jasmyn's Stuff

Leslie from That Chick That Reads

Scarlett from From the Heart

and... of course, Sharon from Sharon's Garden of Book Reviews

Please visit these blogs and share some book love!:) Thank you Sharon for such a great award!

Well, my computer is still down. While on choir tour I received a phone call from a Tech Fellow in the Tech Center on campus saying that my computer needs to be "rebuilt" — whatever that means! So, I purchased an external hard drive (was going to do that anyway) and hopefully (please cross your fingers) all will not be lost.

Choir tour went okay — it was just a long time to devote to something that isn't my major two weeks before finals. Then, on Saturday night I had a an ugly sweater/bachelorette party — that, again, as okay. I would have had a lot more fun had it not been for these three huge assignments I have due before Tuesday. Yesterday I was literally at the library from open to close (10am-5pm) — they had to kick me out! Now I'm here (they just opened at 1pm) and I'm pretty sure I'll be here till they close (11pm). Oh, the life of a college student.

Lately, in the blogosphere, I've been feeling extremely overwhelmed by all the new 2010 challenges. It seems my reader is full of them every day. While I see the fun in them, I'm not sure which one I should do. I don't want to do more than one because it makes me feel as though I'm restricted in what I should read. Plus, I need to look at 2010 as a whole. I will be student teaching in the spring and graduating in May. Beginning in May I begin a summer worth of weddings (right now I'm at six — but ask me again after Christmas). There's my all school reunion the last week of June and a huge family reunion the last week of July. Then there'll be looking for a real job (gasp), moving, and beginning planning out a years worth of lessons. Things won't slow down after that, I'm expecting next fall to be a pretty busy time as a first year teacher.

Do you see my dilema? While I'm positive I will find time for reading next year (not reading as an English teacher isn't an option), I'm just not sure what to do in regards to all of these challenges. Any advice?

But anyway! This week I reviewed Da Cajn Critter. I am no further along on my audiobook "Confessions of a Shopoholic" — but Christmas break is almost here! I also posted my November 2009 Wrap Up Post.

Gina was this week's Guest Reviewer — donating her review of The Summer of Cotton Candy. Please share some book love and visit her at Book Dragon's Lair.

Last week I revealed my new holiday campaign to collect Guest Reviews and this week I posted a generic Guest Post that I welcome anyone to use. If you'd like a more original guest post — please email me and I'd love to write on up for you. We have already collected 33 reviews! Thanks to everyone who has donated! Campaign ends January 4th and is open to absolutely everyone!

I still have 31 amazing followers. Thank you!

On going bit of fun: Register to win a Kindle!

My "To Do" list for blog related things — not just reading:

• Survive the next two weeks before finals
• Finish this ridiculous Harry Potter Paper (no, it's not as fun as I'd had hoped) before Monday
  
• Start/Finish my final linguistics paper (oi, hot mess) before Tuesday
  
• Start/Finish my entire UNIT (lesson plans and all) before Tuesday
  

What did you finish this week?

This is just a quick plug post as I've recently taken social media by storm! I've been on Twitter and Goodreads forever — but just recently I've joined Etsy and Pinterest. While I'm still knew to these sites — I'm missing my book blogging friends! I love the sense of community book bloggers have created and I'd love for that community to accompany me in other areas of my life as well! So please, if you're on these social media sites please either join me or leave your links below!

I've linked directly to my profile on the respective sites and I've also listed my usernames. Are there any other up-in-coming social media sites I should be aware of (besides Tumblr — I'm still holding out on this one as I'm a bit confused)*?

Etsy — reaganurbanec (I didn't realize I could combine these communities — otherwise I would have kept with my maiden name)
Pinterest — google
Twitter — google
Goodreads — google
MyFitnessPal (I definitely need support here! haha!) — google

*Okay, on the topic of Tumblr: I don't understand how Tumblr differs from my blog and Twitter? Do I post the same things? If not, how can I possibly be that interesting where I'd have enough content to post in three different venues? Color me confused.

I hope to see you around — you know, outside the world of books!:)

"When I think of 'Silence' this is what I remember: a grown woman hiding out in closet-sized Study Room with a book about Fallen Angels and not being able to put it down." — Miss Remmers

Release Date: October 2011
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Challenges: 100+ Challenge

"The noise between Patch and Nora is gone. They've overcome the secrets riddled in Patch's dark past... bridged two irreconcilable worlds... faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty and trust... and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth. Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in one another, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they've worked for—and their love—forever."

I read "Hush Hush " two summers ago and "Crescendo " less than a month ago. Between "Hush Hush" and "Crescendo " I lost my enthusiasm for this series. After reading "Hush Hush " I was just amazed and astounded — wanting more! Do to all the other books that needed reading, I didn't get to "Crescendo " until recently. As I opened "Crescendo " for the first time I wasn't really sure how I felt about it. I didn't remember the characters. I didn't remember the plot. I didn't remember Fitzpatrick's created reality. In retrospect, I think that's why I didn't really care for "Crescendo " — I was spending most of my time trying to figure out what was going on.

"Silence," on the other hand, reminded me what I love about this series. While I wasn't as lost as Nora, I loved rediscovering this reality along with her. As her memory returned in fragments and flashes — so did mine! "Silence" is exactly what I needed to rekindle my love of Nora, Patch, and even Scott!

This book was a complete page turner. While at school during my plan period and lunch I kept sneaking away to find a quiet place to read. I felt like I was back (actually attending) at high school again! I found a little study room that was nice, but it's between two classrooms and I was so nervous about being caught! I may (or may not) have even hid out in the staff bathroom during passing time between classes waiting for the other teachers to clear out. Finally, my nerves were spent and I couldn't take feeling like a rebel anymore so I settled for the school library (which isn't nearly as relaxing or quiet). I can't explain it, but I felt as if I were breaking the rules or doing something I shouldn't be when all I was doing was reading! It was the most peculiar thing! It's not as if I didn't get my work done but I didn't want to be chastised either.

Anyway, when I think of "Silence" that is what I will think of: a grown woman hiding out in closet-sized Study Room with a book about Fallen Angels. Like the other novels, "Silence" is fast paced and a book that, right when I had it all figured out, the plot twisted. It was fantastic! I ended up reading it in two days and cannot wait for the fourth installment (I hope my memory holds).

-Visit Becca around the web here: Website | Blog | Goodreads | Twitter
-BUY THE BOOK: Amazon | Kindle | Barnes and Noble | Nook

To the FTC, with love: Library Loan

As promised, today I'm going to provide a generic Guest Post that you (if you want to spread the word) can simply copy and paste and post on your blog. Not only will it spread the word about donating guest reviews, but it will also give you a day's break from coming up with something clever to post about!:) Haha just kidding (sort of).

Hey everybody! Miss Remmers here from Miss Remmers' Review. [Insert your name here] was so generous to allow me to write up a quick post to spread the word about Guest Reviews. As a future educator, I am on a mission to collect book reviews from book bloggers/enthusiasts. My hope is to provide students with reviews of awesome books that they can't put down and that will leave them asking for another book. In essence, I want to inspire struggling and reluctant readers to read recreationally.

To do this, I need your help. This holiday season I am trying to collect as many guest reviews as possible. Not sure what a guest review is? Last week, Sheila (from One Person's Journey Through a World of Books) donated a review of Viola in REEL Life. This week, Leslie from That Chick That Reads donated a review of Blood Promise. Every Wednesday I highlight a different Guest Review. The purpose of this is for students to have a different person's perspective on books — someone other me. Also, by having other reviewers donate reviews, students are exposed to books that I may not have ever picked up.

Have I successfully peaked your interest yet? Are you thinking of an awesome book to inspire non-readers? Perfect. Please stop by and donate a review. It's extremely simple — simply copy and paste your original review into an email along with links to your blog and the original review. It's as easy as that. My goal is collect twenty reviews by Christmas. If I do this, I'll give away a twenty dollar gift certificate to Barnes and Noble to a guest reviewer. The more reviews you send me the more chances you have of winning. If I get thirty reviews, I'll give away thirty dollars (I'll go all the way up to fifty)!

This doesn't take a lot of your time, a link to your blog will be posted in the review at least twice (along with a link to your original post), and you will forever have a link back to your blog in my right sidebar (see "Guest Reviewers"). And, most importantly, you will be putting books in struggling readers' hands. After all... 'Tis the season. If you're interested, please stop by and learn more about Guest Reviews and how to officially join in on the holiday festivities.

Thank you [insert your name] so much for letting me take up a precious post here at [Insert blog title]. I very much appreciate your continual support.

Easy as pie!:) Am I clever or am I clever! If you'd like a more personalized Guest Post, please ask. I just wrote this up to hopefully spread the word. Thanks everyone — I genuinely appreciate your support.

First off, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday!

A lot has happened since last week's Sunday Salon. Most recently, like in the past three hours, my computer has, once again, crashed. I clicked on something to connected to Tweet Cloud to generate whatever and before I knew it several viruses were being pushed onto my poor computer. It's only been a few weeks since the last time this happened and I'm not sure how much of this I can take, so I may need to look into purchasing a new computer for Christmas. Exciting, but expensive. I've been looking online at Walmart to see what kind of deals I can find and it looks as though a new laptop goes for a little over/under five hundred dollars. I think I can make that happen — maybe. Unlike last time when I didn't really have anything due — this time, I do. I've continually mentioned the four research papers I need to work on along with other papers — but it could be worse, I could have lost all my work (I live via my flash drive).

But besides my computer woes, there is still a lot going on at Miss Remmers' Review.

This week I reviewed Thanksgiving at the Inn to celebrate the Thanksgiving Holiday. While I had hoped to make substantial progress on the audio book "Confessions of a Shopoholic," because I took someone home with me for the Holiday I didn't get to listen to it. But hopefully this week more progress will be made.

Leslie was this week's Guest Reviewer — donating her review of Blood Promise. Please share some book love and visit her at That Chick That Reads.

At this point, you may be thinking to yourself, "Yes, Reagan — so what's NEW!" And this is what is new — this holiday season I am going to be collecting book reviews! I know, it's very exciting — I've already collected 28 reviews! I'm so excited — this is going over way better than I thought it would! Thank you all for your outstanding support and dedication! I am very excited to begin putting these Guest Reviews together. Because of the enormous support — I'm going to try to give out some random 'thank you' gifts to Reviewers to who take part in this campaign, whether they be books or other random book swag. Stay tuned for exciting things to come! Campaign ends January 4th and is open to absolutely everyone!

On that topic, Sheila from One Person's Journey Through a World of Books, has upped the ante (if you will). Sheila is also going to be giving away a gift card — check out what you have to do. Thank you Sheila for your awesome support!

Happy Thanksgiving my 31 amazing followers (and guests!)

On going bit of fun: Register to win a Kindle!

My "To Do" list for blog related things — not just reading:

• Survive the next two weeks before finals
  

Happy Sunday everyone!

What did you finish this week?

I am "stealing" this from The Story Siren. If you want to find out more about it click here . Anyway, these are books I got this week at the bookstore, library, and in the mail, of course.

Has everyone recovered from Thursday? I had to return a day early from break — I invited a boy home (ooo!) and he had to get back early so, here I am. With an empty dorm I am doing laundry and reading — all day! Very excited. Hope you all had a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving.

For Review: "A Christmas Carol: Special Edition" by Charles Dickens — Julie from FSB Associates

"The Source of Miracles: 7 Steps to Transforming Your Life Through the Lord's Prayer" by Kathlen McGowan — Julie from FSB Associates

Won:

From the library:

I still have the massive amount of books checked out — too many to list anymore.

Purchased:

What did you find in your mailboxes this week?

Until next week — Happy Reading!

I am "stealing" this from The Story Siren. If you want to find out more about it in my blog. Anyway, these are books I got this week at the bookstore, library, and in the mail, of course. This week was an exciting week for my mailbox. On Wednesday school was dismissed early due to freezing ice, but Button and I still travelled into Sioux Falls on a mission for books (it was pay day). I think we did pretty well for ourselves! I hope you all had a fantastic book week! For Review:

• "When the Stars Go Blue" — Surprise Book from St. Martins Press
• "Everything Beautiful"
• "Notes from the Teenage Underground"
• "The False Friend"

• "Dracula" — from Rosey's Review
• "Supernatural: Season 5" — from Rosey's Review

• "Unbelievable: The Pretty Little Liars Series" (The Book Shop — $4)
• "Just Ella" (The Book Shop — $2)
• "Speak" (The Book Shop — $4)
• "The Giver" (Last Stop CD Shop — $3)
• "The Princess Academy" (Last Stop CD Shop — $2)
• "Return to Paradise" (Last Stop CD Shop — $5)

Happy Thanksgiving! — I wanted to have a unique review for this special day, and thanks to Bancroft Press I have the perfect book! I hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving!

From Amazon.com...

"Ever since his mother left, life has't been easy for Heath Wellington III. Between his father's (Junior's) bouts with alcoholism and literary rejection, and Heath's own wrongful suspension from school, there hasn't been all that much to be thankful for.
But following the tragic death of estranged grandfather Senior, father and son alike stand to inherit a life-changing fortune... with one catch. Heath and Junior must spend the next three months managing Senior's bed and breakfast, located in the same Massachusetts home Junior has spent the last eight years trying to escape. Upended from his everyday life and relocated to a town where everyone knew and loved the grandfather he can't even remember, Heath finds an inn full of some of the strangest people he's ever met, such as: * Winsted, the old, wise Jamaican man who used to lead the prayers in Senior s factory; * Mrs. Farrel, an elderly woman giving away her late husband's fortune letter by letter; * Mustang Sally, the muscle-bound, tattooed grease monkey who doubles as a children's author; * And Carter, the silent TV news junkie and secret Harvard graduate. And, at a nearby school is Savannah, Junior's first love, and her adorable, autistic daughter, Tori. But most of all, there's Junior himself, vinegar to Heath's oil. As Heath adjusts to his new world, what he needs most is to start anew with his father, to understand that Junior, too, is dealing with loss, and to realize that, even in the most tragic of times, there's a lot in life to be thankful for." This story is unlike any that I have ever read. It's a remarkable story about coming together as a family and recognizing what you need to be thankful for — but... without the cheese. Sometimes stories like this lay on the cheese and it gets to be a bit... annoying really. There are certain situations that could potentially have some cheese, but Time Whitney definitely writes with ease and make the situation believable and flawless (without the cheese). This is something I (and my students) appreciate. Thank you Tim!
But anyway... I am so glad that Bancroft Press sent me three copies. I will definitely be keeping one for my classroom and I am so happy to have sent two other copies on. This is such a beautiful holiday read — and a quick read too! There aren't a lot of books out there about Thanksgiving, so I'm extremely happy to add this book to my holiday bookshelf (yes, it exists).
The tenenants that you will meet when reading "Thanksgiving at the Inn" may be the best part of the book. Be prepared.:) I think my favorite was Sally — a tattooed biker/loving children's artist. His part of the book is... it's just phenomonal.
I very much highly recommend this book. Thanks again to Bancroft Press who sent it to me.
Favorite quote: "Sometimes life isn't fair, but it's what you do with your life that defines you" — Sally